BARBARA ALLEN PHOTOGRAPHY

At the age of 8 or 9 I spotted a camera in the windows of my father's shop (library, toys, stationery, etc.) and by being really, really good(!) I earned it, despite my dad's warnings about the price of the film and cost of developing and printing. It was called a "clicky" camera, about 2"x3", and took a picture when you pushed the shutter lever down and another when you pushed it up. Basically a slightly up-market pinhole camera. The prints were tiny - smaller than passport size, but I loved it. By the age of 15 I had progressed to a marginally more sophisticated model. I was very proud of that one because you could look through the viewfinder either from the top or from the back, plus it had a screw-in flash gun. The bulbs for that didn't always work but, never mind, the camera went everywhere... After leaving school and college I worked briefly for an accountant and then a Poole solicitors' practice but, despite my course having touched on both accounts and law, I decided that..

Primary location: United Kingdom